Guinea’s economy is highly dependent on the extractive sector, which accounted for more than 17% of government revenues, 92% of exports and 20% of the country’s GDP in 2022. The main minerals produced in Guinea are gold, diamonds and bauxite, with the latter mostly destined for export. The country also has significant reserves of iron and nickel.
Guinea is not an oil and gas producer and the upstream sector is still in its infancy.In December 2021, the national oil company SONAP (Société Nationale des Pétroles) was created to manage oil rights and negotiate contracts on behalf of the state. It replaced the National Petroleum Office (ONAP) and the National Oil Import Company (SONIP).
Strengthening transparency and governance can help Guinea attract foreign direct investments to develop its mining sector. The EITI has the potential to contribute to improved data collection, knowledge of the sector and improved accounting of subnational payments. These would support concrete reforms adopted by the government such as the adoption of the mining code, the review of contracts and the regular publication of EITI Reports.
In September 2021, EITI Chair Helen Clark issued a statement on the situation in Guinea following the coup d’état. After the coup in 2021, the military junta announced a transition back to civilian rule. The transition was due to end on 31 December 2024 following an agreement with the ECOWAS. However, the deadlines have been missed, raising concerns over the military’s commitment to the transition. According to the latest statement from the junta, elections are likely to be held in 2025.
Despite the political turmoil, Guinea will be a key player in iron production worldwide, particularly with the Simandou project. The Simandou iron ore project targets the world's largest undeveloped iron ore reserve. The deposit is estimated to contain approximately 4 billion tons of high-grade recoverable iron ore (Rio Tinto, 2023). The Simandou project is scheduled to begin operations in 2025, following an estimated total expenditure of $20 billion on the various infrastructure, including mines, railways and port. Guinea EITI has dedicated a web page to the Simandou project on its website.
ITIE Guinée has worked with government agencies to improve the timeliness and accessibility of EITI data through systematic disclosures. Information on production, exports and artisanal mining is now disclosed through quarterly government publications and ministry websites. These are among some of the timeliest EITI disclosures globally and significantly improve public oversight of the sector’s management. An open data portal is being developed to centralise access to this information.
Guinea was an early pioneer internationally in disclosing mining contracts, now publicly available through the government’s public cadastre portal and contract database.
Guinea has gone beyond the minimum requirements of the EITI Standard to disclose its 2017 infrastructure agreement with China backed by revenues from the mining sector. Key elements of the framework agreement were disclosed for the first time in Guinea’s 2018 EITI Report, providing data to inform public understanding and debate on its benefits and future impacts for citizens.
Guinea’s EITI 2022 Report noted that the export tax on artisanal gold has been suspended since July 2016, which has led to an increase in gold exports.
Guinea, the first country to include mining sector emissions in its updated NDC, aims to standardise emissions reporting and establish a Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system to enhance the global competitiveness of its bauxite and iron ore industries. Revenues from the initiative will fund greenhouse gas reduction projects in the mining sector.
Extractive sector data
Production and exports
Revenue collection
Revenue distribution
Top paying companies
Extractive sector management
Tax and legal framework
Guinea’s mining sector is governed by the 2011 Mining Code, last revised in 2013, that constitutes the legal framework for state intervention in the mining sector. The Ministry of Mines and Geology manages exploration and mining activities and is responsible for the development of legislative and regulatory provisions applicable to the mining sector. Mining companies are subject to a mining tax system in accordance with the 2011 Mining Code, as well as a common law tax system as stipulated by the General Tax Code and the Customs Code.
The hydrocarbon sector is governed by the 2014 Petroleum Code. The Minister in charge of hydrocarbons designs, develops and implements the government's hydrocarbons policy. In addition to the payment of taxes under ordinary law, companies holding petroleum licenses are subject to the payment of sectoral duties and taxes stipulated by the 2014 Petroleum Code.
Licenses and contracts
In accordance with the Mining Code, mining licenses for areas which are known to have a commercial deposit are allocated on a transparent and competitive basis. Licenses for areas without geological information or for which geological information has not identified a deposit are distributed on a first come first served basis. Mining licenses are published via Guinea’s license cadastre.
Oil contracts are awarded through bidding or direct negotiation and managed by the Ministry of Hydrocarbons, in accordance with the Petroleum Code. The code also mandates that licenses be published in a register which can be consulted upon request. In practice, the data are available at the ministry’s national petroleum office, Office National des Pétroles (ONAP). The map of onshore and offshore oil blocks is published on the ministry's website.
The mining and petroleum codes mandate the publication of mining and oil contracts, which are available via a portal hosted by the Ministry of Mines and Geology.
Despite this commitment, the recent contracts relating to the Simandou mining concession have not yet been made public. Given the potential significance of this project for the development of Guinea, EITI Guinea has made a recommendation in its 2022 EITI Report for the publication of all active contracts.
Beneficial ownership
According to the mining and petroleum codes, a beneficial owner is defined as any individual who directly or indirectly owns or controls more than 5% of a company, and such ownership must be disclosed. Although legislation drafted in 2019 and resubmitted in 2024 to the Parliament, to identify and disclose beneficial owners of all companies is still pending enactment, the Centre de Promotion et de Développement Minier will oversee the beneficial ownership register for mining companies. In 2020, the government issued a circular to extractive companies, introducing a beneficial ownership declaration form. Currently, as part of EITI reporting, data on both beneficial and legal ownership is being collected.
A crucial aspect of this process is outlined in Article 4 of the amended EITI decree (decree D/2021/233/PRG/SGG of July 14, 2021), which mandates that all mining, oil and gas companies communicate to Guinea EITI the identity of their beneficial owners, their degree of participation in the capital of the company and the terms and conditions for exercising this participation or controlling said companies. Non-compliance with this obligation can lead to the suspension or withdrawal of the license issued to the defaulting company.
The Mining Code (Article 165) stipulates that tax revenues from mining extraction, production and exports be distributed as follows:
80% to the national budget;
15% to local budgets of all local authorities;
5% to the Mining Investment Fund.
The land royalty (Article 160) is transferred to local authorities as follows:
90% to communes;
10% to prefectures.
Companies contribute to a Local Economic Development Fund through a tax of 0.5% on bauxite and iron and 1% on other minerals.
EITI implementation
Governance
ITIE-Guinée is administered by the Guinea Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG), also known as the Comité de pilotage.The MSG is chaired by Mr. Aboubacar Kourouma, Secretary General of the Ministry of Mines.